The state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1883-1893, 1887-04-28

after this manner: $500 books one foot
high and six inches thick; 500 one half
foot high; 500 that will cover SO many
yards of shelving" with no instruction
about the contents of the books. This
way Of buying books is evidence enough
that people don't read the best books, but
it is not as bad practice as that adopted
by young lady who, upon being asked
in a railroad car, what book she was read
ing, replied: 81 really don't know. 1
went into the library and selected this one
because it compared so beautifully with
my hat. Did you ever" she continued,
entirely unconscious that she was exhibit
ing her ignorance and vanity, "see more
perfect match!"
AS prosperous as England has been un-
der Free Trade there are still Protectionists
in that country whose seltishness prompts
| them to an advocacy of that system of
fraud. In recent article. John Bright,
in support of Free Trade for England used
the following words which have an appli-
| cation in America:
| The reason that other nations main
tain high tariff is that the protectionistS
are an organized army, while the consum-
ers are merely mob. The prOtectiOnists
of the United States are burdened with a
large surplus of revenue, yet they refuse
| to lessen the duties, thus promoting sys-
tenn of corruption unequalled in any other
| country
| Don Piatt has been to Washington and
been interviewed. We rarely publish in
| terviews, but one statement he made about
President Cleveland's candidacy in 1888 is
so true that we gladly reproduce it. After
saying that President Cleveland would be
regards him as an honest, able, honorable
man, he added:
And after all, we have to recollect that,
with parties evenly divided as they are
| now, the conscientious few who vote as
they think right, regardless of party, have
| it in their power to re-elect the President.
| do not now refer to what is known as the
Mugwunp vote, but to at least 10000
voters in Ohio who either do not vote at
all or else go to the polls and cast their
ballots for the candidates they personally
approve of. This class is growing larger
every day, and Mr.. Cleveland suits it.
Charles Dudley Warner in the January
number of the New Princeton Review, dis
cusses the extirpation of criminals and
points out three steps towards their extir-
patton. In view of the recent discussion
in North Carolina of the question of man
aging convicts, his views will be interest
ing. He thinks the first step is to shut
| up, on an indeterminate sentence, all those
who have been guilty of a second offense.
He thinks they should have no opportunity
to corrupt the innocent. Security is the
next requisite and rigid discipline the
third. He says-and we commend his
words to all:
Rigid discipline is essential: discipline
is the first requisite in any attempt for
| the improvement of the condition of the
men, physically, morally, or Intellectually.
In any education, in the learning of any
trade, it is the first requisite; it is emphat-
! ically so for boys and men distorted NOR
ally, intellectually, and physically. Hard
! labor is also essential.
''Beechers last words are getting as
numerous as s.Washngton's old body ser
want" In the past week we have read
! three separate articles, all claiming to be
Beecher's last words, neither of which we
| believe he gave utterance to in his illness.
Every man who has special hobby and
wants to give it the sanction of Beecher S
great name, looks into Beecher's writings,
| finds an endorsement of his views, and
| forthwith labels sentence, torn from its
/ proper connection, ''Beechers S Last Words,
and thereby makes the great pulpit ora
tor say what he never meant 10 say. Other
| misrepresentation of the great preacher is
more damaging to his reputation. Such
Misrepresentation in a sense, is libel of
| the dead, and but for the fact that Justice
Stephen, in England, recently held that
''the dead have no rights and can suffer
no wrongs" an action might lie for such
twisting of the utterances of great man
because it has tendency to ruin his rep
-utation Lord Coke, with whom Justice
Stephen does not agree, on one occasion,
quantity said:
''Although the private man or Magistrate
| be dead at the time of making the libel,
yet it is punishable; for in the one case it
stirs up others of the same family, blood,
or society to revenge, and to break the
peace and in the other, the libeller tradu-
ces and slanders the State, which dies not. y
But, while of course this is not libel be-
cause the gist of suit for libel is the ten
dency of the words used to produce a
breech of the peace, it is malicious mis-
representation that honest men ought not
to be guilty of, and which can be checked
only by frowning public sentiment.
| They Can't Afford to Begin Life Wrong.
IFrom Statesville Landmark.
The coming municipal election will dis
| close anew the fact of which there is re-